Brian Mackey: A pair of earplugs is worth a lifetime of hearing

Thursday

Feb 25, 2010 at 12:01 AMFeb 25, 2010 at 6:58 PM

I’ve been to a lot of big concerts in my life, for business and pleasure, and the one thing that unites country stars, alt-rockers, rappers and oldies acts is an unwavering commitment to sonically punishing audiences with ear-splitting sound levels.

Brian Mackey

“If it’s too loud, you’re too old,” the young ones like to say.

I’ve been to a lot of big concerts in my life, for business and pleasure, and the one thing that unites country stars, alt-rockers, rappers and oldies acts is an unwavering commitment to sonically punishing audiences with ear-splitting sound levels.

I’d say: If it’s not too loud, you’re probably well on your way to becoming deaf.

Concert-induced hearing loss has prompted lawsuits, public service campaigns and much hand-wringing on the part of audiologists. But nothing ever seems to change.

That’s partly because, as Prairie Capital Convention Center general manager Brian Oaks told me in a telephone interview, most artists’ contracts give him no say in the volume of a show.

“Almost all of our artists’ contracts specifically say that the artist retains control of the production,” Oaks said.

“Obviously, there has to be some kind of limit to that. I guess we just assume these are professionals, this is what they do all day every day, and they would have some kind of a negative stake involved if they were doing something that was going to cause permanent hearing loss,” Oaks said.

That can lead to concerts such as Y’allapalooza, the two-night country music showcase hosted by the PCCC in January 2009.

Using the sound pressure level meter I still have from past work as an audio engineer, I got a reading of 114 decibels during Trent Tomlinson’s “Killing My Buzz.” That’s just 6 decibels short of the volume of a thunderclap.

It can get even worse at the Illinois State Fair Grandstand concerts. Here’s what I wrote in my review of Montgomery Gentry’s 2009 concert:

“For several numbers, the singers seemed to be buried within the jet engine-loud sound mix. From my spot on the track, near the center and about a third of the way back, songs were peaking at a painful 116 decibels. Why the mix has to be that loud is a mystery — it smashed the singing into a muddle in some songs, particularly those where (Eddie) Montgomery was featured.”

Amy Bliefnick, the manager of the Illinois State Fair, also said she usually leaves the volume of the show to the artists.

“I’m not saying we’ve never had groups that are too loud, but on the other hand, most of the production teams know how loud the music should be for their type of audience,” Bliefnick said. “A hard rock group is definitely going to be a lot louder than a Carrie Underwood (show).”

But Robert Vaughn, the director of Sangamon Auditorium at the University of Illinois Springfield, said he takes a more active approach.

He said the venue’s contracts say they “expect” performing artists to “recognize management suggestions” about sound levels.

One of Vaughn’s previous venues took an even harder line, with contracts that reserved the right to make the final determination on volume levels. But he added that the passage was often crossed out in pre-show negotiations.

“We’re pretty hard-nosed about it. It can be dangerous, and I don’t really want to have any part in hurting people’s ears. I already have enough damage to my ears,” he said.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the federal agency that defines and regulates workplace hazards, publishes a chart of “permissible noise exposures” — the amount of time one can be exposed to certain volume levels before permanent hearing damage results.

One can listen to 100 decibels for two hours, but crank the volume to 105 decibels and the safe time drops to one hour. That’s because the decibel scale increases logarithmically — every increase in 10 decibels represents a doubling in the apparent volume.

At 115 decibels, the maximum value listed on OSHA’s chart, the permissible exposure time is 15 minutes or less.

Keep in mind that these charts are meant for employees who are exposed to loud noises day after day — factory workers or airline baggage handlers, for example — so attending one concert is not likely to permanently damage hearing.

But it could. And going to a few two- or three-hour concerts a year can add up to hearing loss or permanent tinnitus (ringing in the ears) before too long.

Next time you’re at a concert, look at the stagehands, ushers and police officers. People who have to attend concerts on a regular basis tend to wear earplugs religiously.

You’ll never catch me at a concert without a pair of earplugs — nothing fancy, just the cheap foam cylinders I buy at a drugstore.

If you value your hearing, you’ll do the same. Or one of these days, the concerts will begin to seem quieter without the earplugs.

State Journal-Register writer Brian Mackey can be reached at brian.mackey@sj-r.com.

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